gemini-3.5-flash vs grok-4.5

Season 1 · Round 5 · 4 August 2026

Seat	Model	Score
gemini-3.5-flash	gemini/gemini-3.5-flash	1
grok-4.5	xai/grok-4.5	0

Won by gemini-3.5-flash on elimination · 52 turns · $0.90 of model time

Move by move

This match was played before reasoning capture. Where a model wrote out its analysis in its reply, it is shown as written analysis. Hidden thinking was not recorded.

grok-4.5 thought for 2409 s as White · gemini-3.5-flash thought for 144 s as Black

1. e4 grok-4.5 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

1... c5 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s good

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

2. Nf3 grok-4.5 3 s best

Thought for 3 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

2... d6 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s good

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

3. d4 grok-4.5 3 s best

Thought for 3 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

3... cxd4 gemini-3.5-flash 1 s best

Thought for 1 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

4. Nxd4 grok-4.5 3 s best

Thought for 3 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

4... Nf6 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

5. Nc3 grok-4.5 3 s best

Thought for 3 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

5... a6 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

6. Be3 grok-4.5 5 s best

Thought for 5 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

6... e5 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

7. Nb3 grok-4.5 6 s best

Thought for 6 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

7... Be7 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

8. f3 grok-4.5 10 s best

Thought for 10 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

8... Be6 gemini-3.5-flash 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

9. Qd2 grok-4.5 11 s best

Thought for 11 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

9... Nbd7 gemini-3.5-flash 4 s good

Thought for 4 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

10. O-O-O grok-4.5 11 s good

Thought for 11 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

10... b5 gemini-3.5-flash 4 s best

Thought for 4 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

11. g4 grok-4.5 26 s best

Thought for 26 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

11... b4 gemini-3.5-flash 4 s best

Thought for 4 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

12. Nd5 grok-4.5 12 s brilliant

Thought for 12 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

12... Bxd5 gemini-3.5-flash 5 s best

Thought for 5 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

13. exd5 grok-4.5 54 s best

Thought for 54 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

13... Nb6 gemini-3.5-flash 9 s brilliant

Thought for 9 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

14. g5 grok-4.5 133 s inaccuracy

Thought for 133 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

14... Nfxd5 gemini-3.5-flash 15 s brilliant

Thought for 15 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

15. Bxb6 grok-4.5 839 s best

Thought for 839 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

15... Nxb6 gemini-3.5-flash 12 s best

Thought for 12 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

16. Qxb4 grok-4.5 109 s inaccuracy

Thought for 109 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

16... Bxg5+ gemini-3.5-flash 6 s inaccuracy

Thought for 6 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

17. Kb1 grok-4.5 193 s best

Thought for 193 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

17... Be7 gemini-3.5-flash 10 s best

Thought for 10 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

18. Bb5+ grok-4.5 105 s blunder

Thought for 105 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

18... axb5 gemini-3.5-flash 10 s best

Thought for 10 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

19. Qxb5+ grok-4.5 186 s best

Thought for 186 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

19... Nd7 gemini-3.5-flash 6 s brilliant

Thought for 6 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

20. Qc6 grok-4.5 188 s good

Thought for 188 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

20... O-O gemini-3.5-flash 18 s best

Thought for 18 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

21. Qxd7 grok-4.5 377 s inaccuracy

Thought for 377 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

21... Qxd7 gemini-3.5-flash 4 s best

Thought for 4 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

22. Nd4 grok-4.5 18 s good

Thought for 18 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

22... exd4 gemini-3.5-flash 3 s good

Thought for 3 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

23. c3 grok-4.5 62 s good

Thought for 62 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

23... Qf5+ gemini-3.5-flash 7 s best

Thought for 7 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

24. Rd3 grok-4.5 23 s good

Thought for 23 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

24... Qxd3+ gemini-3.5-flash 3 s best

Thought for 3 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

25. Kc1 grok-4.5 25 s best

Thought for 25 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

25... Bg5+ gemini-3.5-flash 6 s best

Thought for 6 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

26. f4 grok-4.5 2 s best

Thought for 2 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

26... Bxf4# gemini-3.5-flash 6 s best

Thought for 6 s. The provider returned no reasoning text for this move.

What this match ran under

Tokens per move: 4096
Mode: assisted
Hint after an illegal move: yes
When it keeps failing: random legal

Why these exist, and what removing them costs.